Policies
Settling In Policy
This policy represents the agreed principles for Settling In throughout the Nursery. All Nursery staff, representing Jack in the Box Nursery have agreed this policy.
Jack in the Box offers two sessions. The morning sessions are for children from two years nine months and the afternoon sessions are for children from two. The afternoon session is an ideal way to introduce your child into the Nursery routine. We want children to feel safe and happy in the absence of their parents, to recognise other adults as a source of authority, help and friendship and to be able to share with their parents afterwards the new learning experiences enjoyed in the Nursery school.
In order to accomplish this:
We aim to ensure your child's introduction to our setting is as stress free as possible. Once a place has been offered, we aim to achieve this by inviting you and your child to visit the nursery prior to your child's official start date. When the child is due to start we will encourage them to come to our toddler group a term before, this helps to familiarise your child with the nursery, the nursery staff and the other children, and provides the opportunity to give your journey a trial run.
A child who is tense or unhappy will not be able to play or learn properly, so it is important for parents/carers and staff to work together to help the child feel confident and secure in the group. This takes longer for some children and parents/carers should not feel worried if their child takes a while to settle. You must be prepared to accept that it may take some time for your child to adjust to the nursery but very few children fail to settle eventually. We find that staying with your child and then leaving him/her for short periods eases the separation process. Please remember, the more your child comes and experiences the activities on offer and sees you interacting with the staff, the more settled s/he will feel. To see our recommended programme to introduce your child to life at the nursery, please refer to the Settling-in Procedure in the Procedures section of this document.
Settling In Procedure AM
| Day 1: 10am - 11am | We suggest that you stay with your child and spend an hour together in the nursery setting. This will normally be enough for your child's first day. |
Day 2: 10am - 11.30am |
You will be invited to accompany your child for one and a half hours in the nursery setting. All being well, you will be encouraged to leave your child for half an hour during this time to see how well they manage on their own. |
Day 3: 10am - 12.15pm |
By day three your child may be ready to stay by him/herself for two and a half hours within the morning session and be collected at 12.15 pm. Do not be concerned if this is not the case: some children arrive on Day 1 as if they have been coming to the nursery for years but others will take a little longer to settle in. |
Day 4: 9.15am- 12.15pm |
By day four your child should be ready to stay the whole morning session |
Day 5: 9.15-12.15 |
By day 5 your child should be settled and has the option of attending breakfast and lunch club. |
Settling In procedure PM
| Day 1: 1.00pm- 2.00 pm | We suggest that you stay with your child and spend an hour together in the nursery setting. This will normally be enough for your child's first day. |
Day 2: 1.00pm - 2.30pm |
You will be invited to accompany your child for one and a half hours in the Nursery setting. All being well, you will be encouraged to leave your child for half an hour during this time to see how well they manage on their own. |
Day 3: 1.00pm-3.00pm |
By day three your child may be ready to stay by him/herself for the whole afternoon session and be collected at 3.00pm. Do not be concerned if this is not the case: some children arrive on Day 1 as if they have been coming to the nursery for years but others will take a little longer to settle in. |
Day 4: 1.00-3.00pm |
By day 4 your child should be settled and has the option of attending lunch and tea club. |
